Ophelia

Two years ago I had some seniors who loved the play Hamlet more than any other other group I've ever taught.  We had some amazing discussions, most of which centered on whether or not Gertrude was complicit in the king's death and whether or not Ophelia deserved her cruel fate.  Because they were so interested, I brought my copy of Ophelia by Lisa Klein to class to see if anyone was interested in reading the story of Hamlet told from Ophelia's perspective and it was so popular that I eventually bought several more copies to keep up with the demand (one student asked for her own copy of it for Christmas).  When I got the information for the Sundance Film Festival that year, I was thrilled to see that an adaptation of Klein's novel had been made and that it was one of the films available for a student screening. So many students wanted to see this film that I eventually had to request more tickets and I even had to turn some of them away.  The students absolutely loved this film and cheered out loud at its conclusion!  It was so much fun for me to see their enthusiasm.  I enjoyed it as well so I was very excited to see it again last night now that it is in wide release.  In this version of Shakespeare's classic tale, Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is an independent young woman who is ultimately able to triumph over what is rotten in Denmark.  I think this version of the story is entirely plausible with, as my students pointed out to me after our first viewing, lots of textual evidence to support it.  I especially enjoyed the characterizations of Hamlet (George MacKay), Gertrude (Naomi Watts), Claudius (Clive Owen), and especially Ophelia.  Hamlet is usually portrayed by an older actor with the gravitas to pull off such a demanding role but, according to the text, he is a young university student who is highly emotional over his father's death and his mother's remarriage.  McKay is the first age-appropriate actor I've seen in the role and I liked his melodramatic take.  Gertrude is one of the most enigmatic characters in literature (I've told my students that when I retire I want to write the story of Hamlet from Gertrude's perspective) and her motivation in this adaptation, namely that her fear of losing her youth and beauty is what makes her susceptible to Claudius' charms, really rings true.  Watts does a good job of showing her desperation and vanity.  There are hints in the text that Claudius is a duplicitous character even before the death of the king and Owen's portrayal is so menacing.  Ophelia is a pawn used by Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet for their own ends in the play but there is a brief spark of rebellion when Laertes gives her advice about her relationship with Hamlet and she calls him a hypocrite for his own unscrupulous behavior towards women.  This rebellious spirit is emphasized in Ridley’s nuanced portrayal.  Many of Ophelia's most pivotal scenes in the play take on a new meaning and make more sense, most notably in the "get thee to a nunnery" scene and Ophelia's mad scene.  Finally, this movie is beautiful with visuals that evoke the classic painting of the drowned Ophelia by John Millais.  If you are a fan of Hamlet, I am sure you will find this movie quite intriguing and I recommend it.

Fourth of July in Hanna

I spent the Fourth of July with Kristine, Trent, and Sean up at our favorite campground in Hanna.  It was absolutely lovely up in the mountains and it was so relaxing.

We barbecued burgers for dinner and they were delicious.  I think everything tastes so much better outside!

After dinner Sean and I made our traditional flag cake.  I have made this cake every year since I was a teenager!

Sitting around the fire is my very favorite part of camping.

Of course we had to make s'mores!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with fun, friends, and family!

Summer Reading: Something in the Water

I enjoyed Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, the next selection on my summer reading list, very much. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a broken record but I couldn't put this one down either! The novel begins very dramatically with one of the characters digging a grave to bury another one and I just had to know what happened to bring this about! Erin is a documentary filmmaker working on a project about criminals reintegrating into society after being released from prison, including Eddie Bishop a notorious crime boss. Her fiance Mark is a successful investment banker but he has recently lost his high-profile job. This necessitates a much more modest wedding than Erin had planned on but their extravagant honeymoon to Bora Bora is already booked so they decide to go any way. While they are scuba diving, they find something in the water which turns out to be a duffel bag containing enough money and diamonds to solve all of their financial woes. They decide to keep it and they set up a Swiss bank account to launder the money and attempt to sell the diamonds through Eddie Bishop. Of course, this decision brings about unexpected consequences and a few twists and turns along the way. After such a dynamic beginning, I found the first third of this novel to be a bit slow with a lot of details that didn't seem to be relevant to the story. Then the action becomes incredibly compelling and the seemingly random details, such as the minutiae surrounding Mark's job in investment banking, what it is like to fly first class, and Eddie Bishop's involvement in organized crime, become important and the tension escalates. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, especially how easy it is to rationalize dishonest behavior and how easy it is to succumb to greed. It made me think about what I would do if I found myself in similar circumstances! Finally, I really enjoyed Erin's voice in the novel. At first I thought the writing was very haphazard but I eventually came to see Erin as an ordinary person in over her head and that made the dialogue seem more believable. I enjoyed her as a character as a result. This is an intriguing read that will keep you turning the pages until the end and I recommend it.

Note:  Have you read Something in the Water?  What did you think?

Midsommar

Despite the fact that I screamed out loud both times I saw Ari Astor's previous film, Hereditary, (I even knew what was coming the second time I saw it and I still screamed), I decided to see Midsommar last night.  I don't know why I do these things to myself because this movie is just as unsettling as its predecessor.  Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) have a precarious relationship because she is needy and he is emotionally distant.  Christian contemplates leaving her but, when Dani suffers a family tragedy, she is so traumatized that he stays with her out of guilt.  Dani learns that Christian is planning a trip with his friends Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Mark (Will Poulter) to Sweden.  Pelle has invited them to his remote village to observe a Midsummer festival that occurs every 90 years so they can conduct anthropological research.  Dani is distraught at the thought of him abandoning her so Christian reluctantly invites her along.  At first they find the festival to be enchanting but the pagan rituals become increasingly bizarre and then, ultimately, terrifying.  However, when Dani participates in one of the rituals, she eventually finds a release from her fear and suffering (and her toxic relationship).  What I found to be most interesting is that Dani is truly an outsider in this community, as Christian and his friends are anthropologists who have studied religious rituals, but she is the most accepting and respectful of it.  Although many of the practices are violent (a ritualistic suicide) or strange (a mating ritual), they all are driven by the cycle of life, death, and rebirth and have a certain logic which Dani ultimately embraces.  The fact that the most terrifying scenes take place in a beautiful setting in bight sunlight creates an atmosphere that is full of tension and the score adds to the sense of dread.  Pugh gives a mesmerizing performance as a woman consumed by grief and her look of exultation at the end of the movie is worth the price of admission.  This movie is incredibly difficult to watch (there was much nervous laughter in my screening) but it is brilliant and I am sure that I will be thinking about it for days.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Last night I spontaneously canceled my plans and ended up at a movie theater for a screening of Spider-Man: Far From Home.  It was a good decision!  In the aftermath of the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is mourning the loss of his mentor Tony Stark but he feels the heavy responsibility of being one of the few remaining Avengers.  All he wants to do is be a normal teenager and have a good time on his school trip to Europe and tell M.J. (Zendaya) how he feels about her.  Meanwhile, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) investigate a destructive storm in Mexico and discover that the Elementals, a group of four monsters who can channel the power of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, have come to Earth from a different reality and that Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) has come from that reality to fight them.  When the Water Elemental attacks Venice, where Peter and the other students have begun their trip, Spider-Man helps Beck, who is dubbed Mysterio, destroy it.  Nick recruits a reluctant Peter to help Beck fight the Fire Elemental in Prague and gives him Tony Stark's glasses which have an artificial intelligence known as E.D.I.T.H. that can access all of Stark Industries' databases and weapons.  After Mysterio and Spider-Man defeat the Fire Elemental, Peter turns down Nick's invitation to form a new Avengers team and gives up E.D.I.T.H. with dire consequences.  What I really liked about this movie is Peter's journey (literally and figuratively) of discovery.  In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he yearns for adventure and wants the excitement of being an Avenger but, in this movie, he now understands the consequences and is not sure that he is ready for the responsibility.  He is forced to find his own inner strength, without his mentor, to save the people he cares about.  I have always loved Holland in this role and he is even more endearingly awkward this time around.  Gyllenhaal is having so much fun as Mysterio and I thought he was a great character.  I also really enjoyed the action sequences, especially the virtual reality aspect of some of the battles, because they feel quite fresh for the MCU.  Finally, I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious because of the interactions between Peter and his friends, especially the relationship between Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Betty (Angourie Rice).  Having taken students on three school trips to Europe, I laughed out loud at just about everything Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (J.B. Smoove) said and did. I also laughed when Happy (Jon Favreau) played "Back in Black" and Peter said that he loves Led Zeppelin.  This movie is a lot of fun and it does a good job of bridging the gap between Avengers: Endgame and the future of the MCU (stay for the mid and end credits scenes).  I definitely recommend it!